Making the Internet safer for the elderly

BRIDGING the digital divide for senior citizens has long been a key concern for countries across the Asia-Pacific region. After all, the Internet has permeated almost every aspect of our lives, and senior citizens often feel left behind in today’s digital push.

In recent years, however, growing cyber threats and scams have shone a spotlight on the urgent need to better protect our seniors online. As one of the least technologically savvy groups, the elderly is also one of the most vulnerable – and targeted – demographics by online scammers.

This was witnessed in the recent high-profile cases involving two senior citizens in Malaysia, where one lost RM1.34mil to a Macau phishing scam and another over RM4.3mil to an online love scam.

Cyber criminals often impersonate government or bank officials to gain the trust of unsuspecting seniors and deceive them into divulging their personal credentials.

As master manipulators, they leverage advanced social engineering techniques, exploiting people’s intrinsic, emotional reactions and causing them to overlook red flags until it is too late.

Digital transformation has forced seniors to transact more and more of their lives online, forcing them to rely on faceless websites and apps rather than in-store agents or salespeople. The rapid propagation of online accounts has made the challenge of keeping each one secure increasingly difficult.

Hence, as we commemorate Safer Internet Day on Feb 7, it is important to consider how we can build a safer Internet for all – including the silver generation.

Ditching passwords for cryptographically secure, device-based authentication can help eliminate the threat of remote attacks, such as using stolen credentials or SMS OTPs to take over accounts. It can also simplify login experiences.

With just a touch of the finger or a quick facial scan, seniors can now log into their accounts seamlessly without needing to remember lengthy or complex passwords.

Ultimately, to achieve a more secure Internet for everyone, we must ensure that the needs and preferences of the elderly are considered. Fortunately, there are readily available standards and best practices to help service providers guide users in adopting passwordless authentication.

These guidelines can be tweaked for senior citizens by simplifying the user experience, offering multiple language options, and more.

Hopefully, by making the Internet a safer space, we can help senior citizens feel more comfortable and confident in embracing digitalisation and reaping its benefits.

ANDREW SHIKIAR

Executive director

FIDO Alliance

(FIDO Alliance is a not-for-profit founded by organisations such as PayPal, Lenovo, Infineon, Nok Labs, Inc, Agnitio and Validity Sensors Inc, with the mission to provide open and free authentication standards to help reduce the world’s reliance on passwords.)